A Lesson on Forgetfulness
by SoulSeeker
Summary: [One Shot] Shinichi recieves a mysterious phone call... how will he take it?


**A Lesson on Forgetfulness**

_Whee! One-shots are fun :D Enjoy the story – and thanks to Candyland, the amazing author who's been my muse and inspiration for my Detective Conan work lately n.n _

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"UGGHH! Not a_gain_, you've _got_ to be kidding me!"

A frustrated Conan mercilessly tossed his Game Boy Advanced SP aside on his bed after having lost yet another round of the new game that Mitsuhiko and Genta had bugged him so much to buy. He was beginning to regret wasting his money on it, yet at the same time, he had become pathetically addicted within the past few hours, as he was left alone in the Mouri household with nothing else better to do.

Well; that wasn't the _full_ truth. Ran had left to go shopping with Sonoko, but the Sleeping Kogoro, his poor excuse for a guardian at the moment, was still in the house, unfortunately for him. He may have well been alone though—as usual, his uncle figure was living up to his name, sleeping like a baby on the couch, probably drunk off of something or another. Not that Shinichi would've paid him any attention if he was awake.

He walked downstairs, glancing at the clock in the hall along on the way, and half of him wondered if Kogoro had woken up yet. He decided he didn't care, although he did notice that the man had moved from the couch up to his room; the living room was his.

It was now five in the afternoon; Ran would be home within the hour, and then he would at least have someone to talk to. He sighed and was pretty damn close to resorting to staring at the clock, but the sound of the ringing phone had distracted him. Knowing that Kogoro could probably sleep right through a nuclear bomb, Conan knew it wouldn't be wise to rely on him to answer it. He was accustomed to picking up the phone there anyway; it was just the typical, 'Hello, Mouri Detective Agency, how may I help you?'—nothing difficult.

The poor boy ran around what seemed like the whole house looking for the cordless phone, and he silently wondered if it would ever be on the charger like it was supposed to. He finally gave up and ran back to the living room, hoping to catch the person on the phone before it cut to the answering machine, or before the person hung up—whichever came first.

Much to his annoyance, the phone did cut to the answering machine just as he was about to pick it up; but for once, the person was leaving a message.

He heard a dry chuckle, and finally the man spoke – a voice Shinichi could never forget, even if he had tried.

"Well, well… what's the matter, detective? Too afraid to pick up the phone now that I've finally tracked you down? You know you couldn't have hid from us forever, Shinichi Kudo…or should I say, Conan Edogawa?"

His heart skipped about five beats and a half and his hand began to shake as it hovered over the phone, and his breaths got shorter and shorter as he began to feel panicked—what he had been trying to avoid for the past year of his life had finally come true; they had finally found him.

He picked up the phone slowly; how would he react? He had never thought the situation through, though he knew it was bound to happen eventually… and now he had to deal with it.

"…Gin…so you've finally tracked me down," he said, a smirk coming to his lips. "Took you long enough."

Conan had begun to calm down, slowly but surely, and he heard Gin chuckle through the phone yet again. "I'm glad to hear you haven't forgotten me," he said.

"What do you want? You already took away most of my life anyway, so now what the hell are you up to?" he shot back.

He could practically hear the man smirk from the other end of the line. "Developed a little attitude problem walking in someone else's shoes, huh? That's all right…but you should probably know…this very same man who 'took away your life' could give it back to you in a heartbeat…" he replied teasingly.

The boy's eyes widened in surprise. "No…you mean… you can't mean…you've got…?"

"Please, you think we'd make a dangerous pill like that and not have a cure for it just in case?" he replied. "The tables have turned, detective…now I have something you want… you _do_ want it, don't you?"

Conan growled. "Just get to the catch, will you?" he hissed.

"Eager, aren't we?" Gin replied. "All right then…"

There was a pause as Conan anxiously waited for him to continue on, and the man's voice finally broke the silence; he could almost hear it shattering.

"Tell us where Sherry is…"

In his head, he had immediately translated Sherry, to Shiho, to Haibara. "What?" he replied with a glare.

"Tell us where Sherry is," he repeated, as if it was the simplest request in the world. "She betrayed our entire organization, and I'm sure she's discussed the consequences with you _more_ than once…so you should _know_ why we would need to know where she is…"

"Never! I'll never rat her out to you!" he exclaimed. "You want her head so badly, you track her down your_self_. I don't need your cure!"

Gin laughed, seeming unsurprised by his response. "You don't really understand, detective," he said. "There's _more_ than the cure at stake here…"

Conan blinked, narrowing his eyes in thought as he tried to figure out what in hell's name he was talking about, and finally, a familiar voice broke his concentration.

"Shinichi? What – what's going on? I'm really confused… Where are you? When are you coming back? You need to help me Shinichi! This man—he—he's got me tied up!"

He tried desperately to maintain a firm grip on the phone, as his hand weakened and he nearly dropped it. He could feel his anger slowly rising; his blood boiling. "RAN!"

"Conan? But…he told me this was Shinichi… what—ah!"

There was another pause.

"More interested in my offer now?" Gin asked coyly, returning to the phone.

"You lay one finger on her—_one finger_, and I_ swear_, I'll—"

"You'll what, detective? Kill me?" he asked mockingly. "You don't even know where I am, do you?"

He growled, looking at the ID caller to see the phone number in hopes that it would help point in his direction – but the only thing it had told him was that he was in the area. _Damn it!_ he yelled at himself. Where could he have been calling from?

"I didn't think so," Gin said after the silence. Just then, he could hear the doorbell ring – now of all times. "And by the way—"

Conan opened the door angrily, half expecting to see Gin there – but his life was just full of surprises. His eyes widened and he stumbled back a bit when he saw his visitor. "What in the— H…Hai—"

Ai Haibara stood on his doorstep with the most evil smirk he had ever seen, a cell phone to her ear, and suddenly, she tossed something at him. Conan saw it flash red in the air, and his mouth hung wide open upon seeing what it was. Ai flipped her phone closed and put it in her pocket casually, the smirk still tugging at her lips.

"Don't leave your bowtie at Dr. Agasa's again…"

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_Hehe, hope you enjoyed it! This is probably the closest I'll ever get to a Conan x Ai fic, sooo, yeah… When I thought of this idea, I couldn't wait to write it, and I thought it was perfect for Ai's "just kidding" yet serious personality. What do you think? Please review :D_


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